


Stay With Me

by geeky__chick



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Canon Compliant if you squint a little, F/M, Fluff, PWP, Post-Goodbye Stranger, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 15:27:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10516518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geeky__chick/pseuds/geeky__chick
Summary: “No Cas in the back seat. Your stone is long gone.”Though he had vanished in the hopes of removing the angel tablet from the reach of both Naomi and the Winchesters, the knowledge that the King of Hell had Meg in his clutches forced him to remain above it all, watching. He had precious minutes to get the tablet away, to hide it, but he could not - would not - leave Meg to die.(A brief study in "What if Castiel had saved Meg in Goodbye, Stranger and then kept her his little secret?" Enjoy!)





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A New Love](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3685752) by [lucifers_first](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucifers_first/pseuds/lucifers_first). 



> This work was inspired by A New Love by lucifers_first. I couldn't seem to help myself after I read that fic. So here's how I think Goodbye, Strange SHOULD have ended!

_November 2012_

_Lincoln Springs, Missouri_

 

“No Cas in the back seat. Your stone is long gone.” 

Though he had vanished in the hopes of removing the angel tablet from the reach of both Naomi and the Winchesters, the knowledge that the King of Hell had Meg in his clutches forced him to remain above it all, watching. He had precious minutes to get the tablet away, to hide it, but he could not - would not - leave Meg to die.

She had suffered enough under the King’s hellish hands, tortured for over a year. Had he been in control of himself, without the interference of Naomi, Castiel knew he would have torn Heaven, Earth, and Hell to pieces in an effort to locate her. He had abandoned her without knowing it. That hollow place in his heart he couldn’t name for so many months, that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that Naomi’s mind games could not completely diminish now had a name.

“Meg. No.”

He saw the decision on Crowley’s face before he moved. Castiel reached forward at the last second snatching her soul out of her vessel and into his ethereal arms.

“Fall.” The angel whispered to the demon. “And stay down. Quiet.”

Unsure if she understood his meaning, Castiel watched her body drop to the dirty floor, the vessel she’d occupied for so long lying lifeless. Castiel held that tiny piece of her black soul in his arms, heedless to the burns he received for his efforts. Angels were never meant to contain a demonic soul. Cas would never let her go, not now.

He waited only a moment as the Winchesters sped to safety, watched as Crowley swore his frustration into empty air. Meg’s vessel lay still, even as he stepped over her and turned back to kick her smartly. Castiel could not hold her soul much longer, it’s blackness scorching his Grace with a pain that was unimaginable.

“Hang on.” Cas whispered to the weary soul, gripping her tighter despite the pain as she tried to slide away. “Stay with me.”

“Clarence.” Meg’s soul whispered back in a demonic tongue, barely decipherable to the angel holding her from the furthest recess of hell. “I’m hurting you.”

Crowley remained where he stood, staring at Meg’s body. Did he know Cas had grasped a part of her soul, keeping his Dark Highness from the revenge he so cherished? Castiel adjusted his grip one more time, holding her firm, refusing to release her.

_Go. Save your brother and my unicorn._

He heard the words resonating through his mind in a careful facsimile of her signature drawl. Cas wasn’t entirely sure what she meant, but he knew it was something important. The unicorn must have been some reference to him, one that he did not understand. He did know an endearment when he heard one, though. Knowing she felt something for him, Cas strengthened his grip just a little more.

The King finally vanished. Castiel materialized where he had stood, looking down at the body beneath his feet. It wasn’t Meg, not really. This was the body of someone else, someone she had killed in her quest to help Azazel. No matter how he felt, Meg was still a demon, she had done terrible things with the time she’d stolen on Earth.

And yet...

“Hold on to me.” Castiel begged the demonic soul in his arms. “Do not let go.”

“Or what?” She choked out in response.

Recognizing her teasing, appreciating it as the pain slithered further into the flesh of his vessel, Cas managed a smirk. “I will charge into hell and drag you back out.”

He had surprised her there, Castiel thought. Her startled silence rewarded him almost as much as the way her soul pressed into him. Able to remove one arm from her safely, Castiel touched the bloodied face of her vessel, healing the wounds, restarting her heart, removing the taint of Heaven’s weapon on Hell-flesh.

The body did not wake, which meant whatever human soul Meg had suppressed by possession was no longer in residence. Meg’s body, now vacant and alive, lay ready to receive her.

“Easy.” Castiel warned as he pushed the soul back into her body. Meg released him reluctantly, only really releasing him when the loosening of her grip revealed the black scorch marks all over his jacket and hands and throat.

Meg’s dark soul returned to the healed body, allowing her familiar eyes to open. She sat up almost immediately, reaching for him. Castiel staggered a little where he had crouched, his body worn out, healing from the effort of holding her demonic soul. Meg’s hands grasped at his face, her dark eyes meeting his.

“Thank you.”

It was, perhaps, the only time she had spoken to him without the signature tease in her tone that he’d always enjoyed. Castiel let his own palm cup her cheek, his thumb swiping over the apple. Gone were the marks of Crowley’ torture, instead, she looked at him with such naked understanding, such emotion, such determination, Cas found himself speechless.

“Let’s get out of here, Clarence.”

Cas nodded. Meg grasped her fallen angel blade in one hand, helped him stand with the other, and they vanished into the dark night.

 

~*~*~*~

_Now_

_Whitehall, Indiana_

He found himself at odd ends more often than not, of late. With the trio of Winchesters he called family off aiding the British Men of Letters, he kept to the trail of Lucifer’s damned offspring, though he trail on that grew colder by the second.

No matter how at odd ends he was, he had too much on his tail to go the one place he desperately wanted to. He kept his secret carefully guarded. Where did they think he went, those long, lonely weeks when they did not see him? Did it ever cross their minds that he might have something else to live for?

Why would it?

The angel stepped out of his vehicle slowly, nodding a greeting to the shiny black Chevy parked alongside a desolate stretch of Indiana highway. For not the first time since he’d worked with the Winchesters, Castiel damned their timing. He had almost been there, almost back to smoky eyes and smirking lips. Whatever they called him for had better be worth it.

“Lucifer’s out.”

Dean’s greeting across the meager meters between them brought Castiel up short. He thought back to those weeks he’d had the fallen angel in his head, the things he had tortured Castiel with. Images, feelings, twisted thoughts...how much had been Lucifer, how much himself? Did Dean or Sam even know what it had taken, the effort Lucifer expended in cowing him? When, finally, his fallen brother threatened the one creature he could not lose, Castiel allowed him dominion.

_If you betray me, Castiel, I will paint the walls with smears of her black soul._

“How?” Cas demanded as he reached his friends. “Where?”

Sam, whom seemed to notice something was ‘off’ about their friend, cleared his throat.

“We aren’t sure. Since Crowley hasn’t turned up to mock us about it, he’s either dead or involved. Latest intel says he’s in Missouri somewhere.”

Castiel felt the unnecessary breath flee his lungs. If he had his wings, he would be at her side in an instant, removing her from the path of danger that would head in her direction. Would Lucifer make good on his threat? She’d been such a loyal follower, such a devout believer in the Father of Lies...would that be enough?

No. No, it would not. He knew down to his borrowed bones that there would be no stopping Lucifer if he wanted to have his revenge on Castiel.

Turning on his heel, Castiel ran back to the car he had just left, slamming the door behind him as the Winchesters slid from their perch on the hood of the Impala. Dean rushed to his side, Sam standing in front of the car to ensure Castiel wouldn’t leave.

“Sam, move.” Cas demanded as Dean grasped the side of the car door, peering into the open window.

“Cas, what’s going on?” Dean asked. “Talk to me.”

The panic was a living thing inside of him as he awkwardly tried - and failed - to get the key into the ignition. Castiel knew he’d go to his own version of hell if he revealed his sins, but he couldn’t dislodge his friends with anything else. Castiel turned his head as the engine roared to life, meeting Dean’s familiar green eyes.

“Meg.” Cas swallowed hard, allowing his face to reflect the alarm. “Meg is in Missouri. If Lucifer is heading there, it’s to kill her. He swore he’d...I betrayed him and since he’s not after the two of you...”

“Ok.” Dean said after sharing quick glance with his brother. “We’ll follow you.”

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

_November 2013_

_Rexford, Idaho_

 

The moment she opened the front door, Castiel was reaching for her. She barely had time to register the surprise at seeing him, since his last message said he would be at the Bunker Sam and Dean Winchester now called home. Yet, here he stood, roping her into his arms with his mouth in full possession of hers.

Her lips parted on a gasp of surprise, which Cas used to his advantage, his seeking tongue sliding into her mouth. His kiss wasn’t as passionate, as ardent as the few they shared before. Here there would be no jokes about the pizza man, about anything, really. Meg could feel the weight of his desperation in the way he backed her into her apartment, slamming the door with his foot.

They’d never gone farther than a few kisses, a quick exploration of hands. Meg found that particularly frustrating, but that was before. Castiel had been an angel then, and she a demon. Now, he was human and she was vastly diminished.

Cas pulled away, gasping for needed oxygen and resting his forehead against hers. The moment was so tender, so very like him since he awoke from the coma with her at his side, that Meg found herself sighing against her will.

Damn this angel.

“I’m sorry,” Cas was saying as she regained the ability to think.

“Why?” Meg shot back, her tone light. “Given another second, I’d have made good on my promise from last year. I already have a pizza on the way.”

His smile was shy, with just a hint at his appreciation for her humor. Something, though, in those deep blue eyes furrowed her own brow in confusion.

“Got something you want to tell me?”

Silence stretched between them for several long moments before he spoke. He released his hold on her as he did, grudgingly, as though he might never have the pleasure again. Meg refrained from giving his arm a squeeze, from smiling with encouragement.

“I was...with someone. A woman. Well, I thought it was a woman. She was a Reaper, actually. She almost killed me. I don’t even know why it happened or how...”

“You banged a Reaper?” Meg smirked with the hint of a laugh. “Bravo.”

“Meg.” Castiel sighed as though exasperated. “That’s not the point. I felt...wrong. It felt wrong.”

At this, Meg shifted a little uncomfortably. “You don’t owe me anything, Clarence. I owe you, actually.”

“No, Meg.”  Castiel ran a hand through his hair before shrugging out of the light blue sweater he now wore in place of his signature trench. “It felt wrong because I wanted...if I was ever to do that, I wanted it to be you.”

No matter how she tried to fight it, the warmth that flooded her chest at his proclamation. She moved toward him again, folding her body into his. Cas opened immediately, as though he craved the attention. Meg lifted her face to him, an offering. He took it without prompting, dropping another toe-curling kiss onto her lips. Meg’s body sighed with contentment, melting a little as Castiel wrapped her in his arms. She lifted her hands to wrap around his neck, her fingertips brushing the line of his dark hair.

“I wanted it to be me, too.” She whispered lightly as they parted for air. “I think it’s about time you showed me what else the pizza man taught you.”

For a moment, her would-be lover did not respond. He did, however, begin to smile after several seconds. That slow, creeping grin crossed his handsome face that was at once slightly bashful and yet sensually sinister.

The angel caught her in his arms, pulled her to his chest in a move that was so deliciously desperate that Meg could barely move. She always thought, those quiet secret times she allowed herself to think about it, that she would have to take control should she and her angel ever get this far. He would be thoughtful, careful, and shy, she thought those long nights ago, before they were separated by Purgatory and the King.

It seemed she’d been wrong.

Castiel bent a little at the knees, his mouth never releasing hers even as he wrapped his arms about her thighs. He lifted her as though she weighed nothing, tongue darting into her mouth to drown out all thoughts and cares. For _so_ long, Meg had wondered at being with Castiel. Her unicorn, the one thing she’d dared to want for herself in her demonic life. She didn’t deserve him, not with the blood on her hands, the evil she had done. Hell-be-damned, she felt _guilty_ for the things she had done and it was all down to his angelic influence.

He made it difficult to care as his tongue massaged hers, drawing a keening little noise from the back of her throat she hadn’t been aware she could make. She wrapped her legs around him, her hands diving into the collar of his shirt in search of any bit of flesh she could reach. Seeking fingers delighted in warm male flesh covering hard muscle, so she was distracted when Castiel laid her out on the bed. He reared up, releasing her mouth only long enough to rip his shirt over his head.

Meg, unable to be idle in this situation, reached for the button of his fly, flicking it open and helping him shimmy gracelessly out of the remainder of his clothing. Instead of reaching for her again, Castiel concentrated on freeing her from fabric restriction, tossing her trousers, shirt and underthings over his shoulder with single-minded need.

She’d done this before, with humans and demons, in other meatsuits. It was always the means to an end, a way to blow off steam, gather information, destroy a soul. She hadn’t done this for the pleasure of it, to be joined with someone, to be intimate. She knew, without either of them saying, that this would resemble her previous dalliances not one iota.

When they were both naked, they paused. She’d seen him undressed before, of course. When posing as his nurse, she’d had to help him bathe a handful of times to keep him from drowning. This was different, though. He wasn’t vulnerable now, or needy in the same ways. He appeared exposed, but no more than she. Castiel’s eyes traveled the length of her, leaving her eyes to graze the lines of her face, to the swell of her breasts, down the plane of her belly to the apex of her thighs. Such intensity and raw hunger shone in those impossibly blue eyes that Meg felt her inner walls convulse with want, her folds slick in ways she’d never experienced before.

Meg took her gaze of him just as slowly, admiring the lean lines of his muscled arms and shoulders, the smooth flesh of his chest and the honeycomb of his abdominal area, dusted lightly with dark hair. His cock stood long and hard, magnificently awaiting her attention. Meg felt her tongue dart out to wet dry lips, the clench in her belly harder this time. She’d wanted, wanted, _wanted_  him for so long, so long assuming he would ever be out of her reach.

Yet, here he stood, on her bed, admiring her in that quiet way of his, no longer angelic. As a human man, he wanted her even more than his angelic Grace had allowed him to before. Meg knew, without either of them saying a word, that the final taboo between them would now be broken.

She rose up on her knees, facing her lover, her hands lightly grasping at his shoulders. His hands, in turn, wrapped around her waist, the pair of them enjoying the power they had over one another, even in this vulnerable moment.

Because she wouldn’t and he knew that, Castiel said it first.

“I love you.”

Meg closed her eyes, relishing the pleasure of him saying something she never deserved. In all her long centuries, she’d never had another being say that to her without restriction, without a caveat. Castiel said it so earnestly that her heart clenched.

“I know.” He continued as she struggled to form the words herself. “You don’t need to say it.”

So, she didn’t.

They came together in that same desperate crash a second time. Castiel, his mouth hard on hers, flattened her back into the bed, hands roaming over her exposed flesh in an attempt to map her. She groaned, the sound lost in his ardent mouth, as he palmed one breast, thumb pebbling the nipple before he moved to the other. Meg arched her back, a desperate plea to get closer as her own hand drifted down the taut flesh over muscle of his chest and belly until she could take his swollen erection in her hands.

Cas swore something she couldn’t make out as her fingers closed around him. She shifted her hand slightly, a light up and down motion that brought his hips snapping forward without prompting. Meg grinned as he pulled his mouth from hers, latching onto the pulsepoint he found on her throat. The suction of his mouth would certainly leave a mark and the idea that he wanted to mark her so made Meg flush with satisfaction.

_Mine._

Her hand moved over his cock eagerly, drawing more of those delicious moans from her lover’s throat. As though he considered turnabout to be fair play, almost the moment she took the bead of moisture from the head, his own fingers delved into the apex of her thighs, finding her folds slick and hot, ready to be taken. Castiel dropped his forehead onto her shoulder, thumb circling the bundle of nerves he found there.

Meg’s hips shot up at the contact, but he held her down with a quick clamp of his thighs. Meg pumped her hand furiously over his cock, desperate to regain control, to make him feel the things she did. They seemed to have lost the power of speech, rocking together on her bed until they were undone. Castiel had his fingers inside of her, mimicking her hand on him, trying to get them into rhythm before they both burst.

“Now.” He said, at last, the gasped word against her lips.

Meg nodded once, releasing her hold on his erection and spreading her legs further apart. There was no hesitation in Castiel’s manner, not now, not when she had given herself so willingly over to him. She guided him easily to her core, rolling her hips as he hovered on the edge of it, an invitation to continue, to enjoy the spoils of her body.

“Look at me,” Meg asked, wrapping her body around his like a vine. She wanted to touch him everywhere, to be touched at every point. Her angel seemed to melt into her arms, giving her what she wanted as her dark eyes met blue.

Their gazes were locked together the exact moment they joined. Castiel shifted his hips, seating himself inside of her warm body with one thrust. Meg’s mouth fell open on a gasp, feeling whole, complete, the pleasure too much to maintain. Castiel’s eyes glazed from pleasure, his arms and legs trembling as he pulled his hips back before pushing them home again. His pace was languid, the angel enjoying the feel of them coming together inch by glorious inch.

In seconds they were moving together, as though they had done this before. Meg tugged his head down for another kiss, grunting when a shift of her lover’s hips stroked a new spot inside of her. Her breath quickened, wanting more, _needing_ to be taken, claimed. Castiel looked beyond this world, as though he couldn’t distinguish heaven and earth. Meg bit her lip, taking advantage of his distraction. She lifted her hips, locked her legs and rolled until her angel lay on his back, his hands grasping her hips for balance.

“Now.” Meg said with a gasp in her signature drawl. “I’m gonna take you to heaven, Clarence.”

He scowled at her slightly, arching his hips in punishment. Meg chuckled darkly, bracing her hands on his chest so she could grind her hips into his. Her thrust was more demanding than his and lust licked to life in his blue eyes at her second pass. His fingers dug into her hips before one hand released to grasp at her breast. His touch was now possessive, wanting more, demanding more.

They lapsed into silence punctuated only by the wet sounds of flesh on flesh and the gasps of pleasure each pulled from the other. Castiel sat up, his lips clamping onto her nipple as Meg rode him toward bliss. His cock, heavy and impossibly hard, filled her up. Friction between their bodies swelled as Cas worked his tongue over her breast. Fire coiled, coiled in her belly with more tension than she thought was even possible to hold there. Her lover’s responding thrusts became more erratic, his mouth releasing her breast so he could grip her hips again, lifting and slamming her onto his cock with ever increasing desperation.

“Go over,” he begged in that strangled voice she loved. “Meg, go over with me.”

She whimpered, bracing her hands harder on his human chest, lifting and falling, grinding, riding him as though there were no tomorrow. The clenching started in her belly, broke in waves over the rest of her body. She rode the crest of it, hearing from the way he called her name that he rode it down with her.

Meg collapsed against his chest, still vibrating with pleasure. Cas wrapped her in his arms, one hand playing with the ends of her hair. He should go back to the Winchesters, help them the way only he could...

“Stay with me.” Meg asked, breaking the quiet.

His response was immediate, softly spoken and without any hint of hesitation.

“I intend to.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

_Now_

_Lakeside, Missouri_

 

“Meg!”

He was shouting her name as they reached the little house just off of Main Street. The town at a population just under 500, one of the old towns that survived war and famine and the modern age, taken care of as though it were precious.

She settled here because it meant nothing, to anyone. Demons rarely frequented, angels couldn’t have cared less. The last supernatural event here had been a runaway werewolf in the late 80’s. They thought it was safe here. She slung beer and pizza at the little sports bar and grill in the center of town, spent most of her time in the library or at home. To the residents of her home town, she was a snarky little bookworm who’s husband was often away.

“Meg!” Castiel screamed again, noting the open front door, the decimated remains of what had been her windows. The house sat far enough back from the street that no one would have noticed the damage yet.

Cas threw himself through the scorched front door, his heart in the general vicinity of his throat. He heard Dean and Sam coming in behind him, likely with weapons drawn. He hadn’t had a chance to explain, but one thing he cherished about his ‘brothers’ was their loyalty. Even if they didn’t understand, even if they were angry, they wouldn’t leave him to this alone.

“I’ll check upstairs.” Sam said as he headed for the broken staircase. He had to jump over a missing pair midway up, but did so without complaint.

Cas checked the little cupboard in the mudroom, where his spare trench coat and old rain boots remained where he left them four months ago. The cupboard was warded against angels.

“Dean. Can you open this?”

The elder Winchester stowed his pistol before complying. He opened the little cupboard quickly, arching a brow when Castiel breathed a relieved sigh at seeing it was empty.

“She got out.” Cas explained, sitting back slightly. “She’s gone.”

“What’d she have in here? Bug-out bag?” Dean asked as he watched his friend.

“I suppose.” Castiel said, furrowing his brow at the unfamiliar terminology. “Money, spare clothing, food, a passport.”

Dean worked his jaw slightly, listening to Sam stomp around upstairs. Cas was trying to remember what she said about her ‘go’ plan. If she thought someone was after her, she’d go...where? What had she said? Why had she given him that information when they were joined together on the kitchen floor?

“How’d she live?” Dean asked seriously. “Last time I saw her, Crowley had an angel blade buried in her gut.”

Cas found he could not look at his friend.

He explained how he managed to save her, how he and Meg agreed that she would stay in one place. He told his old friend how he’d come to Meg when he was human, admitted to lying about the woman he’d been ‘dating’ there, as a cover for his demon.

The rage was barely concealed in Dean’s eyes. Cas wanted to apologize, to tell him he hadn’t understood what he was doing. Cas could not bring himself to lie to Dean, though. He had known exactly what he’d done in hiding Meg from the Winchesters.

“You  didn’t even care if she was dead, Dean.” Cas answered the unasked question. “Why would I bother telling you she lived? She took a dozen bullets in the battle against Leviathans, Sam didn’t even bother trying to find her. I know everything she’s done to you, but you know everything she’s done for me. You didn’t need to be involved.”

“Well, that’s one way to rationalize lying to family.” Dean shot back unkindly. “She’s a demon!”

“She is my family, Dean.” Castiel replied, taking a step closer to him. “And she’s not. Not really, not anymore. I couldn’t save all of her soul.”

Dean looked confused. “So, she’s got half a soul?”

Castiel swallowed hard. “She pushed aside demonic power to keep her mind, her soul alive. She’s still vulnerable to anything against demons but she has almost no power.”

His friend seemed surprised at this. Turning slightly as Sam came crashing back into the room.

“No sign that there was actually a demon here.” The younger Winchester reported, stowing his weapon. “It almost looks staged.”

Cas allowed himself to smile. “She must have learned Lucifer was after her and left before he could find her.”

“So, where is she?”

_A gasp. “Remember. Are you remembering, Clarence?”_

_A groan. Hips jutting up, hands grasping, fingers digging into flesh. He can’t breathe, can’t think, on the cusp...send me over._  

 _“Meg.” He groans her name, she twists her hips._  

_“Clarence.” Her admonishment is tempered, slightly, but the breathy tone to her voice that belies how close she is to the edge. “Focus.”_

_“Kansas?” He asks, breath huffing as she twists her hips, taking him deeper. “I think?”_

_“Good angel.” She chuckles darkly. “Kansas. Oh, god!”_

He shakes himself out of the memory, panic flaring in his heart. She’d have to travel so far, so alone. But she’s capable, he reminds himself. She’s Meg.

“She’s gone to the Bunker,” Cas reveals quietly. “Topeka, actually. I wouldn’t give her the location.”

Dean smirked at this. “Don’t trust her, huh?”

Castiel turns his back on his friends, tossing his response over his shoulder.

“No. I didn’t trust you.”

 

~~*~*~*~*~*~

 

She was waiting on a lonely stretch of interstate 70, sitting on tree stump with a book in her hands. She knew he’d come, knew that he would go to Missouri first. So, she meandered her way to Kansas, taking back roads and old buses to keep herself off the map. She’d felt him coming, felt the rage in her old master’s mind when he bent his power to locate her. Though her demonic power was diminished, she could still feel him. She knew when to grab her bag, stage an attack and blow town.

This time, though, she wasn’t running from something. She found herself running _to._ Over the last four years, they spent as much time together as they could. He’d helped save the world, almost destroyed it again, got killed one more time and lied to his ‘brothers’. Her beloved Clarence was coming along nicely.

Living in Lakeside hadn’t been a bad thing. She had a cause, stay alive for Castiel, be his lighthouse home. She’d taken to it the way she had to Azazel and Lucifer, to bringing down the king. Only, this time, she found herself fulfilled by it. Her little house, the silly job, her horde of books.

Cas dropping in as often as he could.

She saw the cars coming on the horizon, would know her beloved angel’s ridiculous jalopy anywhere. Behind him, gleaming and heroic, came the Winchesters’ legendary Impala. Meg clamped her lip between her teeth, going back to the flickering pages of her book. They would come this way, no matter how they drove into Topeka. Meg hadn’t been waiting long. As always, she and Castiel were in sync.

Dust billowed as he steered that gold monstrosity onto the shoulder, flying out of the driver’s side almost before the thing flipped into park. Meg slid a marker into her book and set it down, standing with a bold smile as her trenchcoated-angelic-boyfriend came rushing at her as though the demons of hell were on his tail.

But he was smiling. Whenever he saw her after they’d been parted, he was smiling.

Meg lifted her arms, allowed Castiel to gather her up in those impossibly strong arms. She gripped him tightly, raising him from the perdition that had been so much fear for her. Meg whispered that she was alright, he replied that he loved her.

He set her onto the gravel beneath them, capturing her in a kiss that curled her toes in her boots. The Winchesters hovered nearby, obviously mostly filled in and still looking confused. Did Dean look a bit angry?

Meg kept her eyes on Castiel as he cupped her cheek, checking for injuries.

“I bailed before he found me.” Meg replied to the question he didn’t need to ask. “Are your boyfriends ok?”

Castiel scowled. Meg turned to the Winchesters. Both of them had hands on the grips of their guns. Meg rolled her eyes.

“Nice to see you, too.” She returned her gaze to Castiel. “We need to go. Now.”

Cas nodded. He turned to his friends, offering no explanation. Dean moved forward, Sam at his side. Meg knew Sam had a harder time trusting her before, but it seemed he had softened. Perhaps he understood her speech of unicorns, her understanding of how he felt for that Texas girl after losing his brother.

Maybe.

“We’ve got a place for her to hide.” Dean offered, obviously grudgingly.

“Yeah.” Sam chimed in. “Cas, just bring her to the Bunker. At least until we’ve figured this whole thing out.”

Meg, having wriggled under Cas’ arm so he could keep her close, glanced at his face. He seemed to relax a little, as though he had hoped his boys would come through for him in the end.

“Thank you.” Cas replied simply. He pushed Meg in the direction of the car, so she trotted off to grab her things.

She couldn’t hear what the boys were talking about, but as she slid into the front seat of Cas’ old car, she didn’t quite feel like an outsider anymore.

Cas got into the driver’s seat, started the engine and turned to her. There was a smile on his ridiculously handsome face, his impossibly blue eyes sparkling with happiness.

He reached across the front seat, kissing her soundly as his hand grasped her chin. No more hiding, no more lying, no more months apart. Meg sighed into his kiss.

“Take me home, Clarence.”

Castiel threw his jalopy into drive and eased onto the highway behind that beautiful black Impala.

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

Inside the Impala, Dean glanced into the rear view mirror while speaking to his brother.

“Does that feel weird to you?”

“Actually,” Sam replied with a laugh. “No. It never made sense to me that he didn’t mourn her. You know how close they were.”

“True,” Dean answered. “He lied to us. Again.”

“Yeah. Do you blame him?”

Dean said nothing. He glanced into the rearview again, not startled to find Cas and Meg appeared to be in animated conversation. He thought back to the encounters between them, remembering those months Castiel lost his mind, how the angel reacted when anything threatened her. Yeah, it did make sense.

“No.” He said at last. “I guess not.”

Sam chuckled. “Weird, isn’t it? A demon falls in love with an angel.”

Dean glanced at his brother, smiling. “Could be weirder.”

With that, he turned up the radio and hit the gas, taking the group back toward the Bunker.

 


End file.
